2014 Sandlands Trousseau- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (3/6/2018)
Sandlands 16’s arrived today…needed a sacrifice…so my last 14 gets it! These are just too good now to cellar…and I seem to be only getting a couple bottles of everything, so I’m missing out on how they will age. This 14 is fantastic! Light bodied, translucent crunchy wild red berry fruits…zingy cherry skin/cranberry acidity…little smoky briar patch, garrigue, licorice, white pepper spice. Lot of crushed geology in this making it stand to attention…wonderful florals of dried roses, blood orange, tilled earth. LOVE how light and translucent this is…yet it drinks like a BOSS! (94 pts.)
Thanks for the note. I’ve been keeping my paws off these, though could benefit from freeing up the cellar space. Do you think these will improve with age?
Great note. This is still one of my favorite all time wines, unqualified. I have taken my full allocation for the last 3 years and keep buying any I happen across at retail.
I do enjoy some other stateside Trousseaus (Arnot Roberts) and of course some from the Jura (Gahier, Ganevat) but as an aside, does anyone know of any Bastardo varietal wines from The Douro being imported into the US yet?
I agree Sandlands is fantastic, and the best CA Trousseau I’ve had, and better than any I’ve tried from Jura. Not quite Douro, but the other best Trousseau I’ve had was from Algueira in Ribeira Sacra, where it’s known as Merenzao.
I randomly opened a 2010 Sandlands Mataro a few weeks ago - wow, one of the best wines I’ve had in the past year. Great purity, delicate yet intense, just beautiful. Best features of old world, new world and AFWE rolled into one.
I’ve loved the Trousseau as well. I just got my case of new arrivals today. This is moving to the top of my producers list.
Put in my first order about a month ago and was lucky enough to pick up 2 of the 16 Conta Costa Mataros. (along with a Chenin Blanc). Can’t wait to try.
Thanks for the note and +1 on Buzz taking the best pics (long time lurker, first-ish time posting here).
I signed up about 4 months before the 16 release and did receive a small allocation.
Apparently, they do an initial release for existing customers and then open the remaining wines up for the stragglers… I was a straggler.
Same here. Signed up about the same time, also part of the straggler offer, and was offered 2 X Contra Costa Mataro, and 2 X California Chenin Blanc. Everything else was sold out by the time I got the allocation.
